World leaders react to joint Syria airstrikes

World leaders react to the airstrikes in Syria carried out by the US, UK and French forces following the latest in a series of alleged chemical attacks by Bashar al Assad’s regime.

:: Syria

In a statement, Damascus branded the move illegal. Its foreign ministry said: “The Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the strongest terms the brutal American-British-French aggression against Syria, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law.”

:: Russia

The Kremlin strongly denounced the missile strikes and said it was calling an emergency session of the UN Security Council.

In a statement, it said: “Russia severely condemns the attack on Syria where Russian military are helping the lawful government in the fight with terrorism.”

Image:A British Tornado GR4 jet taking off from Cyprus ahead of the strikes

:: Iraq

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has said the airstrikes in Syria could allow terrorism to expand in the region and branded the move a “very dangerous development”.

It said: “Such action could have dangerous consequences, threatening the security and stability of the region and giving terrorism another opportunity to expand after it was ousted from Iraq and forced into Syria to retreat to a large extent.”

:: Qatar

A statement released by the country’s official news agency expressed support for the military action to stop further chemical attacks in Syria.

:: Turkey

Ankara hailed the move before accusing the Syrian regime of “crimes against humanity”.

Its foreign ministry said: “We welcome this operation which has eased humanity’s conscience in the face of the attack in Douma.”

Nato Secretary General Jen Stoltenberg said in a statement he backed the US, UK and France in their action “against the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons facilities and capabilities”.

He added: “This will reduce the regime’s ability to further attack the people of Syria with chemical weapons.”

:: United Nations

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged member states to “show restraint in these dangerous circumstances” and to “avoid any acts that could escalate the situation and worsen the suffering of the Syrian people”.